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Sports

Ex-Mets manager Mickey Callaway fired by Mexican League team

Mickey Callaway has lost yet another managing job in baseball.The disgraced former MLB manager and pitching coach was fired from his job as skipper of the Mexican League team Acereros de Monclova.Advertisement“The results force us to make moves in order to have a season that lives up to the expectations of our fans,” the team said in a statement on Monday. “We want to reiterate our absolute respect and admiration for Mr. Mickey Callaway, who we wish much success in his future baseball projects.”Under Callaway the team went 16-17 and is fifth in its division.AdvertisementEx-Met skipper Mickey Callaway lost his job in Flushing in 2019. He lost his next job as pitching coach with the Angels in 2021. Now he’s lost his manager role with his Mexican League team. (Seth Wenig/AP)Callaway was fired as the Mets manager in 2019 after two seasons in which the team went 163-161. The Mets finished fourth in the NL East his first year and had a winning season his second year, but failed to make the playoffs. He was terminated before he could complete the three-year contract he signed.He was fired again as the Angels pitching coach in 2021 and put on MLB’s ineligible list through the end of the 2022 season for allegations of sexual harassment and mistreatment of women.A February 2021 report alleged that Callaway sent sexually explicit images and requests for nude photos to multiple women who worked with him, many of whom were reporters. The allegations surrounding Callaway also included his time with the Mets.He will be eligible to apply to MLB for reinstatement following this season.

Sports

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas breaks silence on criticism: I transitioned to be happy, not to gain athletic advantage

Swimmer Lia Thomas, who became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship earlier this year, is responding to criticism against trans women competing in sports.“Trans people don’t transition for athletics,” Thomas said in an interview that aired Tuesday on “Good Morning America.”Advertisement“We transition to be happy and authentic and our true selves. Transitioning to get an advantage is not something that ever factors into our decisions,” she added.The former University of Pennsylvania swimmer first made national headlines in December after posting the nation’s fastest times in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle at the Zippy Invitational in Akron, Ohio.AdvertisementFour months later, after winning the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA swimming and diving championships in Atlanta, Ga., Thomas’ success quickly turned her into the poster child of the anti-trans movement in sports.Despite complying with hormone therapy requirement guidelines, Thomas was fiercely criticized by some on social media and was also vilified by a number of prominent conservative voices, including Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who tweeted that the NCAA was “destroying opportunities for women, making a mockery of its championships, and perpetuating a fraud” by allowing her to compete.“The biggest misconception, I think, is the reason I transitioned,” said the 23-year-old swimmer, who began hormone therapy in May 2019.“People will say, ‘Oh, she just transitioned so she would have an advantage, so she could win.’ I transitioned to be happy, to be true to myself,” Thomas added.Pennsylvania’s Lia Thomas waits for results after swimming the women’s 200 freestyle final at the NCAA swimming and diving championships, Friday, March 18, 2022, at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. (John Bazemore/AP)Thomas, who graduated from Penn earlier this month, said that she will attend law school in the fall. She later hopes to work in civil rights and public interest law.“Having seen such hateful attacks on trans rights through legislation, fighting for trans rights and trans equality is something that I’ve become much more passionate about and want to pursue,” she said.“Trans women competing in women’s sports does not threaten women’s sports as a whole,” Thomas said. “Trans women are a very small minority of all athletes. The NCAA rules regarding trans women competing in women’s sports have been around for 10-plus years. And we haven’t seen any massive wave of trans women dominating.”